At The Horse Trust, we’ve always believed that every horse deserves a safe and loving place to rest, recover, and simply be a horse. Thanks to your kindness, horses like Kahlo, Poppy, and Zara are now thriving here in Buckinghamshire – but there are many more who still need our help. Today, we’re asking you…
The Horse Trust really do appreciate how generous all the team at Action4Youth are in giving up their time to help us. Every summer they bring students to help us around the yard as well as teaming together and coming up with fundraising ideas to raise money for all the residents here at The Home…
Our extremely popular annual sale will be taking place on Sunday 29th September between 11am and 1pm at our sanctuary in Speen, Buckinghamshire. The sale includes bargain rugs, saddles, bridles, bits and more at fantastic prices. By supporting our sale you will help towards the care of over 100 horses, ponies and donkeys. If you…
The Horse Trust is delighted to announce a successful and heartwarming collaboration with the Society of Equestrian Artists (SEA), who have raised an incredible £1,500 through their “Secret Postcards” fundraiser – an annual initiative where SEA members donate original postcard-sized artworks to support equine charities across the UK. Each one-of-a-kind piece, created by some of…
The owners of TVT Horseboxes and Thames Valley Trailers on Wednesday visited The Horse Trust to officially launch a fundraising partnership with the Speen charity. Frank and Liz Connolly, who run the Arborfield-based horsebox company, raise money by asking for a donation to The Horse Trust rather than commission when they arrange sales, and promote…
This week we launched our brand new online gift shop. With Christmas only two months away this is the perfect place to get seasonal gifts, cards and novelties. There is something for everyone. All the profits raised from the sales of these gifts will be used throughout The Horse Trust, wherever the need is greatest….
With busy lives, it can be hard to find time to volunteer. Here at The Horse Trust, we are always so grateful when people go above and beyond to raise money for us. Meet Susan Smith, a volunteer who is braving a 237 mile bike ride to raise money for all our residents here at…
We have some very exciting news! This month our lovely chap Domino flies the nest onto a new loan home. This was quite an emotional day for us as Domino has become such a big part of The Horse Trust family. Domino was resscued from a field in Hertfordshire in 2012. He arrived with Jenga…
Frank is just four years old – a young, beautiful Friesian x donkey mule who, until recently, had known nothing but neglect. Found in appalling conditions and suffering from a truly horrific mass, Frank has now been rescued and is at the beginning of his journey to a better life. But to have any chance…
We’re thrilled to announce the return of Neddy Noel, our festive Christmas closing event! Join us on Sunday, 1st December 2024, at our Home of Rest for Horses in Speen to kick off the season together in style. Entry: Parking tickets are now SOLD OUT. All free spaces for Gold Sponsors have now been filled….
Join us this Halloween for two days of spooky fun at the Home of Rest for Horses on Wednesday 30th and Thursday 31st October! We’ll be open for an extra day during the school holidays, with loads of Halloween-themed activities for all the family to enjoy. Here’s what’s happening: Themed Crafts – Get creative and…
[maxbutton id=”22″ url=”https://horsetrust.org.uk/help-our-heroes/” text=”Help Our Heroes” ] Have you ever paused to wonder what becomes of our many noble equine veterans after a lifetime of loyal public service? The fact is that heroic horses that have served in the police and military receive no government support once they can no longer work and never have…
[maxbutton id=”22″ url=”https://horsetrust.org.uk/springappeal/” text=”Donate to Appeal” ] The Horse Trust recently took into our lifelong care two beautiful miniature Shetlands, Sven and Olaf, along with seven other horses and ponies. We are appealing for your help as we support them on the next stage of their recovery journey. Sven and Olaf were owned by a…
Rescue pony Jenga continues to thrive in his new home. It is now hard to imagine him as the same sick and lifeless foal that arrived. He is now 7 years old and stands at 14.2hh. And we’re pleased to say that he recently won his first horse agility competition! Jenga was rescued from a…
SEIB Burghley Sponsored Ride – Sunday 4th September 2016 A unique one-off chance to ride along the famous four-star Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials Cross Country Course on the final day of the world class international three day event. An approx 12km leisure ride viewing the huge fences and exploring the tracks and pathways of…
We are proud and delighted to announce a working partnership with The War Horse Memorial, Purple Poppy Appeal. The announcement comes ahead of the first National Animal Day on August 23, which will honour the service of animals in war and provide a lasting legacy for animals in need. They have created National Animal Day…
The Horse Trust would like to thank Saracen Horse Feeds who are helping raise money for the charity at their event in March. An evening with Saracen Horse Feeds On Thursday 20th March 2014 at 6pm, Saracen are hosting a fascinating and useful evening of talks and demonstrations. The event is aimed at riders and…
18.2hh grey Shire horse retires to The Horse Trust at the age of 18, after a long and very noble 12 years in service in the The Royal Parks. Heath, formally known as Heathfield Forrester, is a special horse. Because of his colour, stature and kind nature, Heath was always the poster boy during his…
In a moment of heartfelt farewells as well as exciting new beginnings, twelve extraordinary horses have retired to The Horse Trust’s Home of Rest for Horses after years of dedicated service and distinguished careers. Nine came from the Household Cavalry, two from the police (Lancashire and Metropolitan Mounted Branches), and one from the Light Cavalry….
The Chelsea Pensioners and Defence Animal Centre have helped raised thousands to support our retired army horses at our recent Horses, Hounds and Heroes Family Fun Day. Defence Animal Centre The MoD’s Defence Animal Centre (DAC), the Regimental home of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) supported the event, wowing the crowds with demonstrations by…
[maxbutton id=”17″ url=”https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=HorseTrust&set=a.759559602870287″ text=”See Photo Album” ] On the last Sunday of November, we hosted our annual Neddy Noel event, which saw our sanctuary turn into a fort of festive cheer. Our visitor areas came to life for one last time before winter preparations and we were incredibly warmed by the brilliant turnout. Thanks to…
This year’s Neddy Noel, held on Sunday 1st December 2024, was a truly magical way to bid farewell to our visitors before we close for the winter season. With festive cheer in abundance, it was a day to remember, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible support of our volunteers, team, stallholders, entertainers,…
Stuart Gordon, 40, from Norton, North Yorkshire is hoping to raise £1,000 for equine charity The Horse Trust by running the York 10k on Sunday 31 July. The Horse Trust, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, cares for around 90 rescued, abandoned and retired working horses, ponies and donkeys at its sanctuary in…
When 12-year-old Grace was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018, she faced her illness with remarkable courage and determination. Grace loved to ride and was a regular visitor to The Horse Trust. Despite the challenges, Grace continued to ride horses, a passion that brought her immense joy throughout her life. Her story is one of…
Holding an outdoor cinema event is always a gamble with the good old British weather. We decided we were going to try something new this year and hold the screening of ‘Shrek’ in the grounds of The Horse Trust. Despite the lovely English weather (yes it did rain), the overall event was a great success…
Uncle George here! I have a very important announcement to avoid any potential mishaps! Thankfully we managed to stay on track and open our gates to our lovely visitors.
We are thrilled to announce our Sponsor Horse Meet & Greet dates for the Summer Holidays! Get ready for an unforgettable experience as our beloved sponsor horses make special holiday appearances. These magnificent horses, who wouldn’t usually come in during visitor days, will be grazing in Sefton’s Paddock alongside one of their companions for exclusive…
Discover, Connect, and Celebrate Summer with Us! As the summer holidays begin, we’re excited to invite you to enjoy a season full of discovery, connection and of course, horses! From Wednesday 23rd July to Sunday 7th September, our gates will be open Wednesday to Sunday, 1–4pm, giving you even more opportunities to visit, reconnect with…
As you may remember our amazing supporter Susan Smith braved a 237 mile bike ride in September to raise money for all our residents here at The Horse Trust. Susan noted: ‘I will be driven on by all the stories, good and bad, happy and sad, for the hard working retired horses and the rescued…
12 individuals took part in a sponsored walk from The Horse Trust to the county hall in Aylesbury. They raised a whopping £1275.53 for us and we just wanted to say a huge thank you for their continuing support. We appreciate how generous they are in giving up their time to help us. Philmore Miller…
All team here at The Horse Trust would like to say a massive thanks to Louis Cooke for all his fundraising efforts. Louis visited The Horse Trust a few months ago and was inspired to raise money for our charity. At our Home of Rest for Horses in Buckinghamshire we specialise in providing retirement and…
Already pining for 2020 to be over? What a year….us too! Why not get The Horse Trust 2021 calendar? Dream of 2021 a little early with the NEW Horse Trust 2021 calendar! A 12 month showcase of some of our favourite residents including Cloud and Claudia, cute little Hamish, and the ever dashing Yeti! The…
We are thrilled to announce that The Horse Trust will reopen its doors to visitors starting Thursday, 6th February 2025! From this date onwards, we will welcome you every Thursday to Sunday, 1pm to 4pm, including bank holidays and school holiday Wednesdays. This is the perfect opportunity to enjoy a peaceful visit and unique experience…
Equine charity The Horse Trust last week held a horse parade at its sanctuary in Speen, Buckinghamshire to celebrate its 125th anniversary. The charity has also unveiled its ambitious plans for the sanctuary, which include a new isolation and quarantine block, intensive care boxes and a Horse Walker. On Wednesday 8 June afternoon, The Horse…
After spending the past six months at Windsor as resident artist Jeremy Houghton unveils his latest exhibition ‘The Spirit of Windsor’ at The Osborne Studio Gallery on Wednesday 15th October in aid of The Horse Trust. With many beautiful sketches and paintings of castle life through the eyes of the horse the new exhibition cleverly…
[maxbutton id=”18″ url=”https://horsetrust.org.uk/make-a-donation/” text=”Help us recover from Storm Henk” ] Due to Storm Henk, there was significant damage caused to our site yesterday evening. Thankfully, no horses (or people) were harmed, but we are now facing very costly and labour-heavy repairs. The hardest hit areas were unfortunately in fields with horses in them. Our Shetland…
18-year-old Warwick University student Yaqin Khan on Saturday dyed his hair blonde to raise money for equine charity The Horse Trust. The Horse Trust cares for around 100 rescued, abandoned and retired working horses, ponies and donkeys at its sanctuary in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire. Malaysian national Yaqin, who is a first year Accounting and Finance…
A very big thank you to the parishioners of Milton Parish Church who with the help of over 40 volunteers unveiled a ‘Weeping Window’ of over 3,000 hand knitted poppies on the 9th November to mark 100 years since the end of The Great War. Funds raised by this wonderful display are being donated to…
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Jeanette Allen
Chief Executive Officer
Jeanette is a chartered director who began her career in the commercial sector, setting up and running her own successful recruitment business. After the sale of the business she moved to the charity sector as a fundraiser for the NSPCC and later Bart’s Hospital before becoming the CEO of the MedicAlert Foundation.
Jeanette became the CEO of The Horse Trust in 2010 where she has undertaken a strategic review of the Trust’s charitable aims and objectives and also implemented a major re-development project at the charity’s base, the Home of Rest for Horses, in Buckinghamshire.
Carolyn Madgwick
Director of Legislation & Enforcement
Carolyn joined The Horse Trust in 2016 having spent 27 years as a Senior Trading Standards Officer leading a team of officers specialising in the enforcement of animal health and welfare legislation. At The Horse Trust, Carolyn maintains her level of expertise in legislation, develops training materials and provides training and advice on legislation for many audiences including the Emergency Services, Local Authorities, Vets and other equine charities. She is the current Chair of the National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC), the British Horse Council representative on the RCVS Riding Establishments Sub-Committee and represents the Trust on many other committees and in meetings with Government Officials.
Charlotte Launder
Director of Training
Charlotte has more than 20 years’ experience working with horses and has been at The Horse Trust since 2012. Prior to this Charlotte worked as a lecturer at an agricultural college during her PGCE teaching students in Further and Higher Education. As the Director of Training, she coordinates internal and external training courses. This includes training the Equine Care Team internally and externally, training Emergency Responders, Welfare Professionals, Farriers, and other professionals. Charlotte also manages the retraining of horses at The Horse Trust using behaviour modification techniques and is working towards becoming a Clinical Animal Behaviourist to support this.
Claire Lett
Director of Finance & Administration
Claire has been a qualified accountant for over 20 years. Having joined The Horse Trust in 2001, Claire is the Director of Finance and Administration where she deals with everything financial up to and including full statutory accounts. As part of the senior management team she has also been involved in all aspects of modernising the charity and setting and achieving its strategic goals. Claire was a dedicated rider and horse owner for many years and feels passionately about all animals.
Jan Rogers
Director of Research and Policy
Jan is a psychology graduate who before joining The Horse Trust spent 15 years with British Equestrian, the UK governing body for horse sports, running programmes to identify future talent in young performance horses. Jan came to The Horse Trust in 2017 to look after research grants and policy for the horse world. This two-part role involves sharing the knowledge learned from funded projects as well as understanding regulations and the political environment in the horse world, so that the research we fund is relevant and directly applicable to the wellbeing of horses.
David Andrews
Estate Manager
David is one of the longest standing members of The Horse Trust team. After working as a chef for a period of time, he joined The Horse Trust in 1998 as an estate worker. David is now the Estate Manager, and takes care of all maintenance of our 280 acre estate including ensuring that the fields in which our horses, ponies and donkeys live are well maintained, that they are secure and provides our residents with the best possible environment.
Gemma Pearson
Director of Equine Behaviour
Gemma combines her time between research and outreach as Director of Equine Behaviour at The Horse Trust and running a referral clinic for clinical equine behaviour cases where she is based at the University of Edinburgh. She is also an accredited racecourse veterinary surgeon and enjoys working at Musselburgh racecourse.
After working in ambulatory practice Gemma moved to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies where she completed a rotating residency programme in the equine hospital, completing her Cert AVP (EM), alongside an MScR investigating horse veterinarian interactions.
Subsequently she completed her CCAB (certified clinical animal behaviourist) and her PhD thesis ‘Stress in equids undergoing veterinary care and the development of interventions that positively influence the horses’ experience’. As well as continuing with her own research she supervises several students at PhD, MSc and undergraduate level.
Gemma is frequently invited to lecture internationally, as a recognised expert in this field and an excellent communicator. One of the most successful projects was filming a series of short YouTube videos with the British Equine Veterinary Association aiming to reduce injury rates when dealing with difficult horses under the ‘Don’t break your vet’ campaign.
As the Veterinary Liaison Officer for the International Society for Equitation Science, Gemma is passionate about improving interactions between horses and people, specifically regarding the application of learning theory. In her spare time she has competed up to advanced level endurance on a homebred horse as well as enjoying competing in affiliated dressage and eventing. Currently she is retraining a Thoroughbred recently retired from racing.
Gemma is a qualified veterinary surgeon with over 15 years’ experience with behaviour cases. Gemma is now a qualified Equine Clinical Animal Behaviourist and is the Veterinary Liaison Officer for the International Society for Equitation Science, where she has been involved with several working parties to improve the welfare of horses around the world. Currently, Gemma is undertaking a PhD investigating the stress response of horses undergoing veterinary treatment, with the plan to develop low stress handling techniques.
Jim green
Director of Operations for BARTA
Jim co-founded the British Animal Rescue and Trauma Association (BARTA) in 2012 and together with Professor Josh Slater, promoted the growing initiative alongside their regular careers. BARTA was established with a clear vision to support first responders in the resolution of emergency situations involving animals, with informed, safe and welfare driven plans. In 2019, BARTA became a subsidiary of The Horse Trust and this partnership enabled Jim to continue the journey as full time Director of BARTA. Jim continues to respond operationally to animal incidents through his on-call role as an Animal Rescue Specialist with Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Liane Preshaw
Quality of Life and Research Director
In her role, Liane supports the team by researching new developments in how we care for, manage and train horses, so that we can continue to update and improve our practices, and therefore improve the welfare of the horses in our care. Liane also develops training resources for trainee clinical animal behaviourists and assists the team in dealing with behaviour cases. Liane has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Clinical Animal Behaviour, an MPhil in assessing horse welfare, and an MSc and BSc in Equine Science. She is an ABTC registered Accredited Animal Behaviourist and has achieved pre-certification as a Clinical Animal Behaviourist, which means she has met the knowledge criteria for this role. Liane continues to develop her clinical skills and is working towards becoming an ABTC registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist. She is also a BHS Accredited Professional Coach.
Nicola Housby-Skeggs
Veterinary Director
Nicky graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2007 and joined The Royal Army Veterinary Corps. She served for 10 years: firstly, with Military Working Dogs preparing them and their handlers for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Later she served as the veterinary officer for The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment with some of The Horse Trust’s most loved residents including the late Falstaff and Captain Greatgun. She now works as the Veterinary Director for The Horse Trust providing both the onsite veterinary provision, internal and external training and providing part of the RVC final year rotations.
Russell Pickin
Director of Equine Care
Before joining The Horse Trust, Russell completed thirty-four years’ service with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). He specialised in public order work as an instructor at the Public Order Training Centre and then the Mounted Branch. As a Mounted Branch Inspector, Russell commanded mounted units on countless public order, large incidents and ceremonial events across London and finished his career riding on and commanding the mounted units at Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. He was the Chairman for the National Mounted Training Advisory Group and also the MPS’s Chief Equitation Officer responsible for buying and training police horses and the training of the MPS’s mounted officers. During this role he developed a good working partnership with The Horse Trust where he is now the Director of Equine Care and heads a team of grooms and volunteers that look after our 130 horses.
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Jessica Tallman
Director of Fundraising & Communications
Jessica has been at the heart of The Horse Trust’s fundraising and communications since 2020, working tirelessly to secure the vital support that keeps our sanctuary running. From planning major events and writing grant proposals to championing our work in the media, no two days are ever the same!
Growing up in Kentucky, Jessica was surrounded by animals and always had a passion for their wellbeing. Now, she works shoulder to shoulder with our team of experts, helping give back to the horses who have given so much to us.
With six years in the charity fundraising sector, including roles at Coeliac UK, and previous experience in the corporate sector, Jessica brings a wealth of knowledge in development and growth. She also holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Arts, History, and Business from the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Aberdeen.
Jessica is a driving force behind our fundraising success, ensuring we can continue providing the best possible care to every horse, pony, and donkey at our Home of Rest for Horses and beyond.
Projects up to £20k.
Initiate novel research that will impact on equine wellbeing by generating pilot data, validating methodologies or PhD Student Studentship application.
For projects designed to answer specific questions that will have a direct or immediate impact on horse wellbeing.
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